I look forward to this time of year every single year. Leaves fall off the trees in Chicago, the brisk air hits ahead of winter, the Chicago Bears are inevitably eliminated from any kind of playoff scenario in the NFL, and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ballot hits the inbox.
It’s a fun time to not only seriously cast a ballot for a credible Hall of Fame that will stand up throughout history and document the best of the pro wrestling business, but it’s fun to wade back through that history and watch some of the best to ever step in the ring.
My criteria for an “IN” vote has always been pretty darn simple. Stingy? Yeah, kinda, but simple nonetheless.
To get into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, you need to have the numbers, right? That’s a given. I treat match quality for the WON Hall of Fame like the MLB Hall of Fame treats numbers. You have to have it. It gets you into the conversation.
From there, the first thing I look at is impact on the business. Did the wrestler leave something behind with major historical significance? If more voters considered this analysis point, someone like Charlotte Flair would be in the Hall of Fame. She should be and it’s a shame she isn’t.
Then, I look at drawing power and business. Did the candidate put the butts in seats? Did they move the needle from a ratings perspective? That kind of analysis.
Finally, it’s a gut check. Do they pass the eye test of a Hall of Famer? Admittedly, that’s a subjective approach, but so be it. Pro wrestling is subjective a lot of the time, so it makes perfect sense to use that judgement as a means to drilling down to a decision.
Alright, here it goes — my 2023 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ballot:
Jack and Jerry Brisco
How do you not put one half of The Stooges in the HOF? Kidding! The Brisco Brothers had a long run as a tag team act and amassed over 20 tag team title reigns during their time together. The duo of Jack and Gerry Briscoe filled seats across the country in NWA territories and drew major business opposite Jay Youngblood & Ricky Steamboat. Jack Brisco was a former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion and their last name still carries weight to this day. Sidebar fun fact about The Brisco Brothers? They discovered Terry Bollea in Florida, the man that would go on to be Hulk Hogan. IN.
Jay Youngblood & Ricky Steamboat
Speaking of Youngblood and Steamboat, they’re in too. These guys together changed the way tag team wrestling was executed due to the drama they could generate with their energy and sympathy. The duo could take a beating, but fire up the audience for a comeback and people wanted to see that in person. The “hot tag” existed prior to Youngblood and Steamboat, but they perfected it, thus forever leaving it’s mark on tag team pro wrestling. Youngblood and Steamboat drew money and even main-evented The Final Conflict event from the Greensboro Coliseum against Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle for the NWA World Tag Team Championship inside a steel cage. Go out of your way to watch that match if you haven’t. IN.
Archie Gouldie (Mongolian Stomper)
I vote for this guy every single year. He’s a 14 time world champion in Stampede Wrestling and big time for draw for that territory. Go watch the matches this guy had. He’s big time over. IN.
Junkyard Dog
Another wrestler that I vote in every year. When you talk the most over acts in the history of professional wrestling, Junkyard Dog is on the list. He captured the attention of an audience brilliantly and was a regular draw in a massive way for Mid-South Wrestling with big business feuds against The Freebirds, Ted DiBiase, and others. Junkyard Dog had demons outside of the ring that shortened his career as an impactful performer. When he was hot, he was really hot, and gets the nod. IN.
Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch had the hottest run a woman has had in the history of professional wrestling. From the summer of 2018 through her main event match at WrestleMania in 2019, Lynch was the most over star in WWE. She carried the company and that WrestleMania on her shoulders. The WWE audience being as invested in her as they were forced her match into the main event at WrestleMania 35 and was the first-ever all women’s main event in WrestleMania history. A no brainer here in terms of impact and business. IN.
Kevin Nash & Scott Hall
The Outsiders. Admittedly, I debated this for quite some time. However, when you talk making an impact and leaving a mark on the wrestling business, these two have done just that. Hall and Nash ushered in the hottest era in wrestling history and helped create a new style of wrestling presentation with real world angles as opposed to character based wrestling like trash truck drivers and dentists. When Hall and Nash appeared in WCW they changed the game and drew big, big dollars. IN.
Roman Reigns
This one should be obvious. Not only is Roman Reigns on a 1,000 plus day run as world champion, but he’s been the face of the WWE at a time of major growth. Billion dollar TV deals, record gates, and international growth have all occurred with Reigns at the top of the card and on marquee’s around the world. Reigns has also been the key focal point of a tremendously successful Bloodline story on Smackdown and has had memorable matches within that story with a variety of different opponents. Even as Reigns struggled to connect as a babyface when he first became a singles star, he did so while in WrestleMania main events — 7 total and 4 in a row from 2015-2018. Oh yeah! He was a member of The Shield faction too. IN.
Randy Orton
The longevity of Randy Orton’s career and the fact that it’s all taken place at the top of the biggest wrestling company in the world with WWE is remarkable. Orton is a 13 time world champion, a member of Evolution, a grand slam champion — everything. He’s done everything. He’s even the youngest heavyweight champion in history. Orton is a B match player. You’re not going to get A level stuff from him much, but you aren’t getting C level stuff from him much either. He’s consistent. The guy gets the wrestling business. Somebody once told me to watch Orton’s feet when he wrestles. They barely move. He’s so smooth and graceful in the ring that he makes what is very difficult look easy — almost boring. Orton is a high level performer with a high level business record to boot. IN.
Paul Orndorff
Because the peak of Orndorff’s career was working with Hulk Hogan, it’s easy to forget just how formidable a heel he was. The guy got heat. Loads of it. Hogan probably is just as over and popular if he wasn’t working with Orndorff, but Orndorff and Hogan did so much business together that you simply cannot overlook the impact Orndorff had on the numbers. Hogan made him, but he made Hogan too. Being the guy that travels around the country to make the biggest star in wrestling is a valuable and trusted asset that deserves big time credit. Orndorff was never world champion, but got to make huge money working with the world champion. Admirable and smart. Business. IN.
Larry Matysik
One of the best announcers in the history of the business. Not only an announcer, but a player with access behind the scenes with some of the most historic promoters in history. IN.
*Notable exceptions*
The Young Bucks were left off of my ballot because of their run at the top of AEW. The Bucks helped usher in the AEW revolution and paved a way for independent wrestlers to make a living. It’s not something that all wrestlers can replicate, though, and they haven’t used their star power to grow AEW long term. They’ve become one note. If they find a way to do more with their career in AEW, they will change the conversation around them in this slot.